SteveMc

RIP. He was a good 'ol American director. Ladyhawke is a favorite of mine.

Thought that just came to me about the Fanfare is that it reminds me a bit of the Trumpet Concerto in parts.

Fanfare for a Festive Occasion (1980) This is an important work as it is the first concert overture written by Williams, a form that he would be called upon to revisit often in the following in his capacity as arguably the premier composer-conductor in the American public eye. Williams gets the form very right, packing rousing motion and technique in a brief package. It is interesting to hear how this piece both anticipates and differs from the overtures to come. It was written for the Boston Civic Orchestra, receiving its first release all the way in 2011 with The Bay Brass.

I like what Alfred Newman does in this cue:

Yes, we are going all the way up until the present in here. Glad you are enjoying it thus far!

Elegy For Cello And Orchestra

Violin Concerto No. 1 (1974-1976) The Violin Concerto No.1 represents a tangible shift in Williams's concert output. While still being modern in style and approach, it is a much more conventional work in form and presentation. Instead of experimenting with the sonic bounds of the instrument and concerto form as with the Flute Concerto, or seeking a jazz-contemporary synthesis as with many of his previous works for the concert hall, the Violin Concerto presents a work for soloist and orchestra that follows a more expected pattern. Three movements, fast, slow, fast. Familiar interplay between soloist and orchestra. It is in the writing where the unique element is to be found. Williams here makes a major step in his search for his own type of musical postmodernism, blending romantic hallmarks in themes and development, with modern atonal sensibilities. As well, a strong personal element exists. Williams's late wife, Barbara Ruick, suggested her husband write a concerto for the violin, and she died as he was writing it. Williams dedicated the second movement especially to her memory. The piece belongs in what I like to refer as Williams's Heroic Period. As with his mid 70s disaster scores and with his score to Jaws, there is a sense of elemental tension and struggle that permeates the piece. The focus here, though, is much more inward and the resolution less certain. The first movement, Moderato, features the violin line moving, perhaps meandering, through various accompaniments that develop and restate the central motifs, which manage to be memorable without quite being melodic. As Williams would later be fond of doing, the movement ends quietly, having a semi-colon type of effect. The Adagio is the heart of the work, and contains, at least in my opinion, the strongest musical vision and execution of the piece. The overall mood is a sort of painful beauty, as the the main melodic motif unfolds rather like a love theme that can't quite bring itself to soar. Retrospective feeling happiness and tragedy are also conveyed, and the conclusion is gentle, yet definite. I hear parallels in spirit to his iconic film music love themes and slower themes. The third movement, Maestoso-Presto, is lively, even aggressive at times, others more subdued. Material from the former movements is revisited as the violin line again seems to make its way through a tense landscape. The movement eventually focus and builds towards a traditional rousing end. I've often felt that the third movement is a bit long and that the ending manages to feel sudden and forced despite this. There are three versions of the concerto to my knowledge. The original version was first premiered in 1981 and was recorded by the London Symphony under Leonard Slatkin. Mark Peskanov is the soloist. I tend to prefer this version overall for its immediacy and almost raw quality compared to the others, something that benefits the Adagio especially. Link below. The next version is the 1998 revision. Williams polished and embellished the piece, softening it a bit with the passage of time, drawing attention to different elements. While it feels just a little more accessible than the original, it also lacks propulsion at times, to my sensibilities at least. Williams conducted Gil Shaham and the Boston Symphony in a recording of this version. Finally, with the passage of another 20 or so years, Williams revised the piece yet again. The 2016 version is perhaps the most polished, and feels a bit restrained compared to the 1998, reflecting some of the trends of JWs current compositional period. While streamlined, it is by no means raw and feels somehow richer than the other versions. The mysterious aspect of the first movement is emphasized, while the final movement seems to have been revised the most extensively, feeling more substantial and directed. I tend to prefer this third movement to the others. A live recording exists of this revision, again with Shaham and the Boston Symphony, this time with Stéphane Denève on the podium.

The Finale from The Book Thief.

A Nostalgic Jazz Odyssey (1971) Another piece written for the Eastman Wind Ensemble, this is a tone poem of sorts exploring jazz sonorities in a contemporary classical context, in a bit more of an accessible way than the Sinfonietta. The United States Coast Guard band recorded and released the piece in 2015.

What do you think of the final sequence? I think it is a pretty great piece of Spielberg direction and visuals, but others seem to find it as flat as the rest of the movie.

Flute Concerto (1969) The Flute Concerto is one of Williams's most striking concert pieces. Perhaps John's most avant-garde concert work, and the one that seems to impress the contemporary classical crowd the most, it is an exercise in moods and textures that draws on modernist and Japanese influences. Despite its approach, it is very rewarding to listen to, and there are moments of orchestration and direction that are unmistakably JW. Williams seems to view the piece as an early work, and as such it does not see the light of day all that often, which is probably a pity as it strikes me as a quite mature work in intention and execution. The only recording is from 1981 and features Leonard Slatkin conducting Peter Lloyd and the London Symphony. Would definitely like to see this one get a higher profile.

I really like the production on this song. Oh that actually good songs like would be Top 40 hits.

Alien is the better score. Also the better movie. I'm not a fan of Aliens, not until the third act at least.

Sinfonietta for Wind Ensemble (1968) We continue with the second of Williams's 1960s symphonic efforts, the Sinfonietta for Wind Ensemble. Sometimes mislabeled as a second symphony by Williams, this three movement work is one of considerable scope and ambition, while staying on a definite clear path. @Falstaft has written a great analysis of the piece, tying it to contemporary musical trends and JWs later film score characteristics. Here is that article: http://unsungsymphonies.blogspot.com/2011/10/innocuous-as-film-score-williams.html The work was taken up by the Eastman Wind Ensemble who recorded it and released it in 1972. The audio below is from a rare CD re-release. This is perhaps my least favorite of the early JW concert efforts. Rather technical and heavy for my tastes, bereft of levity, a bit challenging to get into.

I'm going to be making two posts today. First, a piece that notoriously has not been recorded and released. Symphony No. 1 (1966) There has been a good deal of discussion about this piece on the board, despite most if not all of us having never heard it. @TownerFan has written delved deep into the available information about the piece's writing, concept, and performance and I link to his excellent article, which also covers his other concert works of the period, here: https://thelegacyofjohnwilliams.com/2019/10/08/john-williams-early-concert-works/ All indications are that the symphony is an important formative work, particularly with regards to Williams coalescing in his mind a sort of artistic vision of the importance of myth for life and art, something which I think would greatly inform his future transcendent approach to film scoring.

They meant to say Johnny Williams and John Williams no doubt. This is pretty a pretty incredible event and I am glad it is going forward.

Don Juan by Strauss sounds a great deal like a film music suite.

Essay for Strings (1965) Sorry for the delay in posting. I do hope to be more frequent than this going forward. So, the Essay for Strings, another 1965 work. I find this piece to be very deliberate, a conscious attempt by JW at writing a fully realized piece for the concert hall. Again, he combines modernist stylings with a slightly more straightforward approach, this time in terms of dramatic structure. A lot of the piece, in terms of material and direction, does call to mind some of Williams's future approach to action writing in film scores. He builds the work around a dramatic thematic motif shape, fully utilizing the string orchestra to provide different statements and stormy moods, with the occasional clever lighter passage here and there. The piece received a few performances back in the 60s, with Previn and Mehta on the podium, with Williams occasionally conducting it himself since the 80s. The premier was in Houston, with Previn. Williams wrote program notes for the event: Two recordings of the work exist. The first came all the way in 2002, with Ron Feldman leading the London Symphony. This recording is on YouTube. A second recording, featuring the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia was released in 2013, and is available for purchase here: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8029337--american-masters

I think T2 feels more dated than T1. T2 has that unmistakable 80s SoCal feeling. T1 rises above its setting and the period genre trappings. It's simplicity is a great strength, and makes it paradoxically more complicated than T1. T2 is extraordinarily well made and complicated, but in a way that makes it the cinematic equivalent of a thrilling theme park.

I'm not big on Aliens either. The only thing that feels real in the whole movie is the thing with Ripley and the kid. Which makes the third act on the best third acts in cinema history. But the rest I can really do without. The Terminator is probably Cameron's best film, with The Abyss being his best visionary work. T2 is fantastic too. With Titanic, and especially Avatar, he was given too much money.

Discuss.

Man, so much good JW stuff coming out and concerts coming up. I feel very privileged to be be able to witness part of this round of appearances, but I still wish I could see the new concerto performed live. Hopefully it gets a West Coast performance.

I do hear some similarity in the flavor of the scores. Probably unintentional.

She looks almost exactly the same as when she did ER in the 90s! Good genes and good diet, I guess.

Prelude and Fugue Alright, let us begin with what is to my knowledge the first released John Williams concert work. The Prelude and Fugue dates back from 1965, during an era where "John" Williams was trying to cultivate a career as a serious classical composer while "Johnny" paid the bills writing film scores. This early work seeks to blend contemporary classical stylings with jazz hallmarks, with both being filtered through John's emerging compositional voice, though the overall effect does feel indebted to Bernstein. Although relatively avant-garde, it does exemplify some of his concern with accessibility of form and blending of various higher and lower musical influences into a new sort of synthesis. In that regard, I'd classify it as an early postmodern work. There are moments throughout where some of his future trademarks seem to be in gestation. It is a strong work that has a confidence in direction and thematic build-up even in the freer flowing sections. Two recordings exist. The first is the original from 1965, with Stan Keaton conducting the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra. This is the recording that, to my ears, has the most energy and propulsion. The second recording, from 2005, features "The President's Own" United States Marine Band giving a more measured and restrained take on the piece.